Structures & Landscapes
This special-themed issue will consider poetry, reflective essays, stories, artwork, etc. that investigate the concepts of structures and landscapes whether real (e.g., a picture of a mountainside) or abstract (e.g., a portrayal of a structure collapsing). Some topics we’ll consider would include the structure of society or of social interaction; apparent structure of an unfamiliar culture (think of a time in which you visited another country). Elements of architecture, anthropology, etc. may be incorporated.

Now is the winter of our discount tent made glorious summer by this sun of York… or some such rubbish. It is certainly not summer yet, but spring sprang today and, having sprung, will doubtless move on: nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all thy…

It all started in 1992. I’d won a couple of crime fiction awards, and the local college came calling. Did I want to come on faculty and teach in the writing program? Hell, yes! (Pass the scotch.)

Over the years, I continued to teach fiction writing, but also picked up English Lit, Marketing (my degree) and a few odd ones, like Animation and Theatre. Such is the life of an itinerant college prof. (Pass the scotch.)

Twenty-four years later, I’m a full-time author. Except for Wednesday nights, when I put on my mask, don a cape, and turn into SUPER TEACH! (Okay, ‘Crazy Author Prof.’ Too much time alone at a keyboard can be scary. (Pass the scotch.)

Recently, a jovial colleague asked me if I was a good teacher or an evil one. I’m definitely on the kind side of the equation. The last thing I want is to be a Dream Killer. But even the kindest, most dedicated writing teachers can get frustrated. So when Anne suggested I rant on these pages, I gracefully accepted. (With the sort of grace that might be associated with a herd of stampeding mastodons.)

So here are my top ten peeves as a creative writing teacher:

THE OBVIOUS

“I Don’t Need no Stinkin’ Genre.”

In addition to basic and advanced writing skills, I teach the genres in my course. Meaning, we deconstruct each of the main genres of fiction (mystery, thriller, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, western, literary…etc.) to see what publishers expect. This is particularly important when it comes to endings. Mickey Spillane said those famous words: “Your first page sells this book. Your last page sells the next one.”

Most publishers categorize the books they accept into genres. Most readers stick to a few genres they like best for their reading pleasure. So it stands to reason that if you can slot your work into an already active genre, you have a better chance of getting published and read.

Many students refuse to classify their work. They feel it is ‘selling out’ to do so. (Yes, I’ve heard this frequently.) They don’t want to ‘conform’ or be associated with a genre that has a ‘formula.’ (One day I hope to discover that formula. I’ll be rich.)

So I often start out with half a class that claims to be writing literary fiction, even though not a single student can name a contemporary literary book they’ve actually read. (Pass the scotch.)

The Memoir Disguised as Fiction.

These students have no interest in writing fiction. They really only want to write one book ever, and that is their life story. But they know that memoirs of unknown people don’t sell well, so they’re going to write it is a novel. Because then it will be a bestseller.

Here’s what I tell them: What happens to you in real life – no matter how dramatic and emotional it is for you – usually doesn’t make a good novel. Novels are stories. Stories have endings, and readers expect satisfactory endings. Real life rarely gives you those endings, and so you will have to make something up.

If you want to write your life story, go for it. Take a memoir writing class.

“My Editor Will Fix This.”

Students who think that grammar and punctuation are not important drive me batty.

Hey, someone else will fix that. They even expect me – the teacher – to copy-edit their work. Or at least to ignore all seventeen errors on the first page when I am marking. (*hits head against desk*)

I should really put this under the ‘baffling’ category. If you are an artist or craftsman, you need to learn the tools of your trade. Writers deal in words, and our main tools are grammar, punctuation and diction. How could you expect to become a writer without mastering the tools of our trade?

The Hunger Games Clone.

I can’t tell you how many times students in my classes have come determined to rewrite The Hunger Games with different character names on a different planet. Yes, I’m picking on Hunger Games, because it seems to be an endemic obsession with my younger students.

What I’m really talking about here is the sheer number of people who want to be writers but really can’t come up with a new way to say things. Yes, you can write a new spin on an old plot. But it has to be something we haven’t seen before.

There are just some plots we are absolutely sick of seeing. For me, it’s the ‘harvesting organs’ plot. Almost every class I’ve taught has someone in it who is writing a story about killing people to sell their organs. It’s been done, I tell them. I can’t think of a new angle that hasn’t already been done, and done well. Enough, already. Write something else. Please. Leave the poor organs where they are!

THE BAFFLING

The Preachers: students who write to teach other people a lesson.

And that’s all they want to do. Akin to the memoir-novelists, these students come to class with a cause, often an environmental one. They want to write a novel that teaches the rest of us the importance of reuse and recycling. Or the evils of eating meat.

Recently, I had a woman join my fiction class for the express purpose of teaching people how to manage their finances better. She thought if she wrote novels about people going down the tubes financially, and then being bailed out by lessons from a friendly banker (like herself ) it would get her message across.

All noble. But the problem is: people read fiction to be entertained. They don’t want to be lectured. If your entire goal is to teach people a lesson, probably you should take a nonfiction course. Or here’s a novel 🙂 idea: become a teacher.

Literary Snowflakes: students who ignore publisher guidelines.

“A typical publisher guideline for novels is 70,000-80,000 words? Well, mine is 150,000, and I don’t need to worry about that because they will love it. Too bad if it doesn’t fit their print run and genre guidelines. They’ll make an exception for me.”

I don’t want to make this a generational thing. Okay, hell yes – maybe I should come clean. I came from a generation that was booted out of the house at 18 and told to make a living. ‘Special’ wasn’t a concept back when we used slide rules instead of calculators.

Thing is, these students don’t believe me. They simply don’t believe they can’t write exactly what they want and not get published. And I’m breaking their hearts when I tell them this: Publishers buy what readers want to read. Not what writers want to write.

Students Who Set out to Break the Rules.

There are many ways to tell a story. We creative writing teachers have some rules on viewpoint, and we discuss what they are, the reasons for them, and why you don’t want to break them.

Then we discuss why you might WANT to break them. Apparently, this isn’t enough. (*sobs into sleeve*)

I have some students who set out to break every rule they can think of because they want to be different. “To hell with the readers. I’ll head-hop if I want. And if Gone Girl has two first person viewpoints, my book is going to have seventeen! No one will have seen anything like it before. They’ll think I’m brilliant.”

Never mind that the prose is unreadable. Or that we don’t have a clear protagonist, and thus don’t know whom to root for.

e.e.cummings did it. Why can’t they?

Students Who Don’t Write.

They love the class. Never miss a week. But struggle to complete one chapter by the end of term. Not only that, this isn’t the first fiction writing class they’ve taken. They specialize in writers’ workshops and retreats.

It seems baffling, but some people like to hobby as aspiring writers. They learn all about writing but never actually write. Of course, we veterans can get that part. Writing is work – hard work. Writing is done alone in a room. In contrast, learning about writing can be fun. That’s done in a social environment with other people.

THE ‘I COULDN’T MAKE THIS UP’

Creative Writing Teachers Who Steal our Material for their Own Classes (*removes gun from stocking*)

Not kidding. I actually had an adult student come clean about this. By class seven, he hadn’t done any of the assignments, and admitted he was taking the class to collect material to use for the high school creative writing class he taught. I’m still not sure how I feel about that.

Students Who Don’t Read.

This is the one that gets me the most. Last term I did a survey. I asked each student to write the number of books they had read last year on a small piece of paper and hand it in. I begged them to be honest. They didn’t have to write their names on the paper, so I would never know who had written what total. Here’s the tally of number of books read;

Highest number by one person: 26

Lowest number by one person: 0-1

Average: 7

Yup, I’m still shaking my head over that low. He couldn’t remember whether he’d actually read a book. (How can you not KNOW?)

And these people want to be writers. *Collective groan* Why – will someone please tell me why anyone would want to be a writer if they don’t read books?

To be clear here: I read 101 novels last year. I read for one hour every night before I go to bed, and have done so for years. That’s seven hours a week, assuming I don’t sneak other time to read. Two books a week. And that doesn’t include the hours I spend reading students manuscripts over three terms.

If reading isn’t your hobby, how can you possibly think you can write? Why would you want to?

By this point, you are probably asking:

Hey Teach! Why do you do it?

As this term draws to an end, I decided to ask myself that question: why be a creative writing teacher? Then give myself a completely honest answer. Here goes:

It’s Not the Money.

Hey buddy, can you spare a dime? Part time profs in Canada are poorly paid. I’m top rate, at $47 an hour. I’m only paid for my time in the classroom (3 hours a week). For every hour in the classroom, I spend at least two hours prepping and marking. We don’t get paid for that. At end of term, I spend several days evaluating manuscripts. We don’t get paid for that either. This means I am getting paid less than minimum wage. So I’m not doing it for the money.

It’s Not all Those Book Sales.

When I first started teaching, an author gal more published than I was at the time said a peculiar thing to me: “Be sure you enjoy teaching because aspiring writers don’t buy books.” At first I was puzzled, but then I started to understand what she meant. Students are here to learn how to make their fiction better. That’s their focus. They really don’t care about what their teacher has written.

So why the heck do you do it, Mel? That’s time you could invest in writing your own books…

It’s Vegetables for Authors: It’s Good for Me.

Let me explain: It takes me back to first principles.

I teach all three terms. Every four months, I am reminded about goal/motivation/conflict. Three act structure. Viewpoint rules. Creating compelling characters. Teaching “Crafting a Novel” forces me to constantly evaluate my own work, as I do my students. In other words, it’s ‘vegetables for authors’ – good for me.

It’s the People.

By far, the most valuable thing about teaching a night course year after year is it allows me to mix with people who would not normally be part of my crowd. Adult students of all ages and backgrounds meet up in my classrooms, and many are delightful. I’ve treasured the varied people I’ve met through the years, and keep in touch with many of them.

Getting to know people other than your own crowd (in my case, other writers) is extremely valuable for an author. You’re not merely guessing how others different from you may think…you actually *know* people who are different. This helps you create diverse characters in your fiction who come alive.

As well, you meet people from different professions…doctors, lawyers, salespeople, bank officers, government workers, labourers, grad students, Starbucks baristas, roofers, police, firefighters, chefs, paramedics. I have my own list of people to call on, when I need to do research.

It’s Good for my Soul

I’m paying it forward. Believe it or not, I didn’t become an author in a vacuum. I had two mentors along the way who believed in me. Michael Crawley and Lou Allin – I hope you are having a fab time in the afterlife. Hugs all around, when I get there.

Students take writing courses for all sorts of reasons. Some take it for college course credit. Some take it for interest, as they might take photography or cooking classes. Others need an escape from dreary jobs, and a writing class can provide that escape, if only temporarily. But many actually do hope to become authors like I am. When I connect with one of them, and can help them on their way, it is magic. There is no greater high.

No question, my life is richer through teaching fiction writing, even if my bank account is not.

You can help Melodie’s bank account by buying her humorous books, like The B-Team. This will keep her from writing dreary novels that will depress us all. (Pass the scotch.)

***

What about you, scriveners? Have you ever taken a writing class? Did you drive your teacher nuts with any of these things? (I know I was guilty of several…Anne) Have you ever taught creative writing?

If you’re in the area of the Central Coast of California on Tuesday, February 13th, you can meet Anne in person. She’ll be talking to the SLO Nightwriters about “How a Blog Can Benefit Any Author’s Career.” The meeting will be in San Luis Obispo at 11245 Los Osos Valley Road at 6:30 PM. FREE!

About Melodie Campbell: The Toronto Sun called her Canada’s “Queen of Comedy.” Library Journal compared her to Janet Evanovich.

Melodie Campbell has won the Derringer, the Arthur Ellis Award, and eight more awards for crime fiction.

In 2015, Melodie made the Top 50 Amazon Bestseller list, sandwiched between Tom Clancy and Nora Roberts.

OPPORTUNITY ALERTS

EVERYTHING CHANGE CLIMATE FICTION CONTEST NO ENTRY FEE. Submit one piece of fiction up to 5,000 words using the impact of climate change as an element of your story. The winning story will receive a $1000 prize, and nine finalists will receive $50 prizes. Also, there will be an anthology of selected winners. The contest sponsor is the Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative at Arizona State University. Deadline February 28.

The Nelligan Prize.$2000 first prize for a literary short story, any length. Plus publication in the Colorado Review. Must be previously unpublished. Fee $15. Deadline March 14th

Eludia Award for a Novel or Story Collection Contest from Women Writers Over 40! $1,000 and publication by Sowilo Press is given annually for a novel or story collection by a woman writer over the age of 40. Using the online submission system, submit a manuscript of any length with a $30 entry fee by March 15

Red Hen Press annual Nonfiction Contest. $1,000 prize and publication by the prestigious Red Hen Press. They’re looking for an essay collection, memoir, or book of narrative nonfiction. Florencia Ramirez will judge. Using the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 150 pages with a $25 entry fee. Deadline April 30

Wergle Flomp Humorous Poetry Contest NO FEE. The First prize is $1,000 and there’s a second prize of $250. Also 10 Honorable Mentions will receive $100 each. The top 12 entries get published online. Judge: Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer. Length limit: 250 lines. And there are no restrictions on age or country. DEADLINE APRIL 1st

More and more book fairs and festivals are springing up each year, and there have never been as many options for writers looking to reach out to new audiences and get involved in their local literary scene. That said, not all book fairs are created equal – across the world, literary fairs tend to either be community-focused, grassroots events powered mainly by goodwill, or larger, more dissolute corporate affairs drowning in sponsorship. Each model has its pros and cons, but the perfect literary fair sits somewhere in the middle.

For new authors, literary fairs and festivals are an invaluable resource. While you may pine to adopt the ‘solitary author’ life popularized by media representations (and by famous recluses such as Cormac McCarthy, Thomas Pynchon, and Jonathan Franzen), the reality is that the author-as-hermit archetype is a luxury that must be earned. For writers still fighting to make their mark (particularly if they’re self-publishing), self-promotion is a necessity. The good news is that, unlike copy-pasting adverts to your social media feeds, attending literary fairs and festivals can be a lot of fun. You might even make some money.

So, let’s break down what exactly literary fairs and festivals can do for you. Once that’s out of the way, we’ll look into what you can do to get as much out of fairs and festivals as you possibly can.

What are literary festivals and how do I sign up?

Literary fairs and festivals come in all shapes and sizes. From the huge Harlem Book Fair in the USA to the Poetry Book Fair in London, literary fairs are difficult to tar with the same brush. Some tend to swell beyond their focus (corporation-sponsored fairs are sometimes threatened by the inclusion of celebrities and sports personalities), whereas others struggle to fill the lineup. One thing you can count on, no matter which book fair you attend, is that there will be talks by authors, signings, workshops, and possibly a few specialist panels on specific topics.

As a visitor, you’ll attend talks by your favorite writers, queue to have your book signed, enjoy some festival food, drink some wine, attend a workshop or two, have some lovely conversations, and maybe buy a book or two. It’s all very tranquil. The same cannot be said for the writers in attendance – things can get chaotic (and expensive!) very quickly, which is why it’s so important to have a plan in place before you attend. After all, literary agents will be in attendance, small publishers will be lurking, and commissioning editors and buyers abound; there are potential customers everywhere.

Literary fairs tempt many different types of potential buyers and contacts.
Literary fairs and festivals offer up an invaluable chance to bypass the bureaucracy of standard agency/publisher applications – if you can corner an agent and force some wine into their hand, you’ll have maybe three minutes to explain why they should totally pick you up. If you’re not prepared, you’re wasting that opportunity.

Typically, the bigger festivals are pickier with who they host, and tend to foreground established and traditionally published writers – this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival, for example, is hosting writers including Joyce Carol Oates, Colson Whitehead, and Jonathan Lethem – but such festivals nonetheless tend to make an effort to represent local authors who are lesser known. Brooklyn Book Festival is also hosting hundreds of Brooklynite debut novelists and poets, few of whom have particularly expansive readerships.

This confirms that it’s a good idea to start by scouting out your local area. Fairs and festivals are obliged to represent local talent (particularly if your book is set in or describes the local area) though, if you can afford to be picky, it’s worth bearing in mind Hay Festival founder Peter Florence’s insights:

I think maybe the only two ‘rules’ I’ve observed to be generally applicable and true are these: the only festivals that really work are rooted in their communities; and that – as in everything you know about biology, economics, history, politics, and life – diversity is wisest and strongest.

– Peter Florence, interviewed in The Guardian

Happily, many festivals are now actively (finally) reaching out to indie or self-publishing authors, so getting on the bill for even major local book festivals isn’t as difficult as you might think. Just make sure to contact the festival organizers far in advance (six to nine months is a safe bet) and have your best pitch ready.

The earlier you start planning for a book fair, the better the financial outcome.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that most festivals either pay only the headlining writers or don’t pay at all. Certainly, the hordes of lesser-known, stall-manning authors and poets are unlikely to see much of a direct financial return (but then they are being given the chance to sell to attendees). When you’re taking a day (or weekend) off work to travel to the festival; staying in a hotel, B&B, or campsite; and feeding yourself expensive festival food, costs can shoot up very quickly. As such, you’ll want to have planned ahead – you’ll probably be able to bring food in with you, and if you book far enough in advance, accommodation won’t be so expensive. Be sure to exploit free refreshments wherever they can be found, and practice your sales-speak so you can sell a few books!

What literary fairs and festivals can do for you

If you’re successful in applying for a place at a book fair or festival, chances are you’ll be manning a stall between events. This is your chance to put yourself and your book on display – you’re going to want to attract as many interested people as you can (even if they’re not customers or agents – you never know who could prove useful in the future).

With this in mind, you’re going to have to make sure that you’re able to talk confidently and engagingly about yourself and your book but, beyond that, you’re also going to want to ensure that:

You’ve got stock to sell,
You’ve followed the festival guidelines and rules to the letter,
Your stall, display, and books look good – consider bringing along home-made signs and posters,
You’re ready to accept currency (this means bringing change) and/or card,
You’ve got business cards and flyers at the ready,
You’ve brought your laptop. With this, you can exploit social media, instantly establish contact with any useful people you meet, draw up quick applications or messages, and keep track of your sales,
You’re ready to pitch your book (and yourself) at a moment’s notice.
It’s also a good idea to seek out anyone you know who has attended the fair/festival before. They can help give you an idea of how you should structure your day and how much walking around you’ll have to do. Speaking of walking around, make sure you’re wearing comfortable shoes and are ready for any bad weather that may be coming your way – there’s nothing more miserable than sitting in the rain with blisters on your feet, trying to sell damp books to equally soggy punters.

Success at a literary festival entails more walking than you might think.
Beyond hopefully selling a few books, you should also be on the lookout for literary agents and publishers. But don’t turn up blind – do your research beforehand. See which agents are turning up, which publishing houses are sending commissioning editors, whether Barnes and Noble or Waterstones are sending buyers, and tailor your pitch accordingly. Don’t make the mistake of reeling in an agent when they don’t even deal in your genre, and don’t blather on to publishers when you do finally snag their attention – be focused, engaging, knowledgeable, and memorable. If there was ever a time for informed charisma, this is it. After all, you’re not going to be the only writer there vying for their attention. You’re not only going to have to look good; you’re going to have to look better than everyone else.

But it’s not all networking and nepotism. Book fairs and festivals are, after all is said and done, wonderful opportunities to meet people who have the same interests as you. If you’re lacking literary friends, they can be a great way to fill that hole. Who hasn’t wanted to be part of a Hemingway/Fitzgerald/Stein-esque coterie? You’ll doubtlessly learn a lot from book fairs about the current trends and preoccupations in publishing and, even if you don’t succeed in pitching anything, just talking to agents or publishers can help you out in the future when submitting proposals. After all, if they can put a face to the name, you’re already in with a better chance of establishing a healthy working relationship.

Talks, panels, and workshops

If you’re given the option, always put yourself forward to host a talk, join a panel, or lead a workshop. It might be scary, but if it goes well, you’ve helped develop your personal brand – you can be sure of at least a few book sales and you should gain a fair few followers on your social media channels. Best of all, you’ll be more likely to snag additional speaking gigs in the future. After all, if you’ve led an interesting discussion or a workshop at a festival once, you’re evidently qualified to do it again. Next time, it could be a bigger festival with more people. Maybe it’ll be a writers’ conference. Maybe an expo. Maybe they’ll even pay their writers!

Get involved with literary fairs however you can – your role will only grow from there.
But even if not, establishing yourself as an authority and an expert is something that literary agents and publishers love to see, and is something that you owe yourself too. After all, book marketing is no longer merely about book marketing; in today’s climate of hyper-visibility, it’s just as much about author marketing (even those recluses I mentioned earlier – McCarthy and Franzen – have been dragged onto The Oprah Winfrey Show by their insistent publishers). The more visible, authoritative, and public you are, the more potential customers are going to want to read your book.

Get your face out there

Even if you don’t sell any books, don’t host any talks or workshops, don’t find any agents, and spend the whole day talking to interested passers-by and asking questions of more established writers during their panel talks, you’re still reaping the benefits of books fairs. After all, a huge part of marketing is simply getting your face and your name out there – being visible instead of invisible. If anyone goes home remembering their conversation with you or, even better, your name and book, it’s a win. That said, you should also be pushing your social media feeds and your Amazon page (if you have one – and if not, why not?) If you can gain fifty new followers on Twitter, that’s fifty people who’re going to see your updates and promotions, and that’s nothing to scoff at.

If you’re not ready to get stuck into literary fairs as an author, go as a ticket-holder – there’s still lots to learn, and you can be taking notes, attending workshops, and talking to authors to prepare yourself for your own time in the spotlight.

Have you attended any literary fairs or festivals? How did you find them? Do you have any tips for our readers that we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments. Or, for more great advice on this topic, check out Why You Need To Brand Yourself As An Author, And Exactly How To Do It and Grow Your Author Brand Through Networking.

For published and aspiring writers alike – enter our free annual short story competition and be in with a chance of winning a place on one of Arvon’s four- or six-day Clockhouse writing retreats, as well as seeing your story published on http://www.writersandartists.co.uk.

To enter, all you have to do is submit a short story (for adults) of no more than 2,000 words. And that’s it. Unlike previous years, there’s no theme for you to base your story on; all you have to do is make sure you’re registered with the website, the subject line of your email reads ‘W&A Short Story Competition 2018’ and you send it to competition@bloomsbury.com.

The closing date for entries is midnight on Tuesday 13th February, 2018. The winner of the competition – along with two runners-up – will be announced on the blog pages of their site in March 2018.

Being shortlisted for a prestigious award is always an honour for the book, author and publisher. It is also important that non-fiction is recognised and commended as highly as fiction. It’s even more exciting when people who enjoy DK’s books are involved in the judging including children’s, teachers and librarians, which is why DK is delighted that this year two of our books have been shortlisted for outstanding non-fiction awards: My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things for The School Library Association Under 7’s Information Book Award, which is announced today (22nd November), and Home Lab by Robert Winston, which has won The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize. This is the third year running that DK have won the prize and marks 13 wins in total at the same awards.

My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things – SLA Information Award

When you are little, everything in the world is very important. Everything is exciting and new and it’s difficult to decide what to find out about first. This very special encyclopedia means that there is no need to choose.

What is very important to us is that little learners love our books. But to get them into their hands, we need the help of book lovers and librarians – so when My Encyclopedia of Very Important Things was nominated for the SLA Under 7’s Information Book Award, we were delighted. Being nominated for this award reinforces the need for kids to keep asking questions, seeking information, and finding all the answers they need. Where is the hottest place in the world? How tall can a sunflower grow? Are purple carrots real? What colour is topaz? All the answers are in these pages.

This book is made for a very important person, and that is the child who reads it. With a section entitled ‘Very important things about me’, little readers will understand that their body is an amazing machine, that their brains can do dozens of things at once, and that everyone’s emotions matter. By understanding just how important they are, we hope that young readers will be inspired to keep learning – and doing – wonderful things.

“What the judges say:

A lovely bright layout, combining excellent photos and quirky illustrations offers an appealing setting for the text. There are plenty of facts on each page, laid out clearly and using simple, accessible language. There is something to interest everyone here, from dinosaurs to clouds, music to habitats. This is a lovely browser that offers something new every time it is picked up.”

The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize for Home Lab by Robert Winston

A few months before we got cracking on this book, we knew that Home Lab was going to be a challenge: our team wanted to create the perfect combination of simple instructions and bright, exciting photography. More than anything, we wanted young people to not just read about science, but also do science. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”. This book instills that practical philosophy into 28 fun science experiments with basic materials found around the home, including making some truly gooey slime, cheap yet effective smartphone speakers, and a surprisingly strong bridge using lollipop sticks.

When Home Lab was shortlisted alongside five other remarkable books for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, we were obviously thrilled. Now, 300 groups of young people throughout the country will get a chance to vote for a book that places considered thought over hearsay, reasoning over rumour. We did not make this book for awards, of course, but what this nomination represents is a recognition of the importance of science in the lives of children. Afterall, today’s young people are tomorrow’s scientists. A cleaner, safer environment requires an understanding of sustainable energy; the construction of a new building is only possible with a knowledge of materials and engineering; and an aeroplane will fly when optimised for airflow using a streamlined design. These endeavours are possible only through the acquisition and application of scientific concepts.

Home Lab tries to kickstart that process – to get kids, girls and boys, asking questions and urging them to think creatively and critically. In this way, it is truly satisfying to be greeted by a panel of judges who also believe in the necessity of science as a way to build a better and more thoughtful world.

As the editor of this book and also an optimistic parent, I am hopeful that great reference books (and not just these six nominated titles) will open up doors to new possibilities. A world in which Benjamin Franklin – himself a great scientist – would proudly look upon with a sense of wonder and head-scratching awe.

This guest post was written by Poppy Izzard, Claire Morrison, and Ashwin Khurana. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the FCBG.

Every day 16 MILLION plastic bottles go un-recycled in the UK, choking our rivers and suffocating the ocean. Now a revolutionary plan to solve this is on the table but industry is fighting back. There’s no time to waste: every minute another 10,000 bottles go un-recycled, and the public consultation ends in days! Let’s make sure the Minister can’t back down:

The Environment Secretary is considering a revolutionary plan to give people a financial incentive to recycle. It’s a complete no-brainer, but industry lobbyists and even supermarkets are fighting back, hard — and the extended consultation closes in 4 days!

To drown them out we need a tidal wave of public support to flood the consultation — click to add your name and then share this with everyone, we’re making our submission in 4 days:

The plan is super simple: a small deposit is paid with every plastic bottle, which you get back when you recycle the bottle. In places like Germany and Denmark this same plan has taken recycling rates to over 90%.

More recycling means new plastic production would plummet. We’d use less oil, our beaches, birds, and brooks could breath again, AND our councils would actually save money from lower garbage collection and landfill costs. Complete no-brainer.

There’s no time to waste — every minute another 10,000 bottles go un-recycled. With only 4 days left, let’s make sure the Minister can’t back down now. Add your name and then tell everyone:

In the wild, a single plastic bottle can take 450 years to break down. Winning this would be a victory felt for centuries. Our great, great, great, great grandchildren will walk on their beaches, birds circling overhead as the waves roll in, smiling back at us. Let’s make this happen now, for us, for them, and for our world.